Imitation overshot water wheel



F. S- M CUNE IMITATION OVERSHOT WATERWHEEL April! 131, 1950 Filed April 26, 1945 Fieclef "(R 62112? Patented Apr. 11, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE nnrra'rron ovliitsno r WATER. WHEEL Frederick s. McCune, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application April 26, 1945', Serial No.- 590-,460'

Claims. 1

This invention is a miniature water wheel designed for use as a toy, or for advertising purposes, or for display and ornamental purposes.

It is an object of the invention to simulate an overshot water wheel, and to provide for using a given amount of water over and over again in a closed. circuit, thus avoiding the continuous use of expensive metered water, and avoidin the expense and nuisance of providing for the carrying off and disposal of waste water involv-- ing the use of pipes and connections subject to leakage, and the production of openings in floors and the concealing of the pipes, etc-., employed for supplying water to the wheel and carryin Water away from the wheel and disposing of such waste water.

According to the present invention, the minia ture water wheel is suitably driven by a motor at a slow rate of speed to simulate the slow de liberate rotation of an ordinary overshot water wheel, and provision is made for the motor driven water wheel to pick up water from a reservoir or from a body of water, and carry such picked up water upwardly at the ascending side of the water wheel tothe top of the wheel and then pour the water in a continuous stream downwardly across the descending side of the wheel in simulation of an ordinary overshot water wheel. The water discharging from the wheel falls into the reservoir or body of water from which the driven wheel has picked up water, and so the water is used over and over again in a closed circuit, and thus the expense andnuisauce of using meteredwater is avoided and a pleasing and satisfactory simulation of av real water-wheel is obtained in a very simple and efiicient manner.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claims, it. of course, being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details may be made, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing,

Figure l is a plan view of a simulated overshot water wheel of the present invention, together with motor means and reduction gearing for driving the wheel;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the wheel, the motor and drive connections being omitted,

The wheel of the present invention includes spaced wheel members or heads A and B. Each wheel member or head is made up of a hub l, a plurality of radial spokes 2 and a rim 3, these three parts preferably lying in the same vertical plane. The hubs l of the spaced wheel members are fixedupon a horizontal shaft. 4, one end of which is mounted to rotate upon a standard or pedestal 5;. and. its opposite end mounted to rotate in a standard or pedestal 6v rising from a suitable base i. Disposed between the wheel members A and B are buckets 8 of any desired shape and suitable size. As shown in Figure 2, each bucket has its front and rear walls incli-ned downwardly and towards one another, and the cross sectional of the bucket may be substantially triangular as shown. Each bucket is, open at its top and is pivotally suspended. at the middle of its top portion v upon a rod 9 ex tending between the-wheel members A and B near the outer peripheries thereof so that the normal tendency of the bucket. is to hang from the rod 9 in an upright position.

Beneath the wheel there is a reservoiror pan [0 having an open top and. into which the lower portion of the wheel extends so as to be submerged in a body to liquid, preferably water, contained in the pan or reservoir.

While the wheel may be arranged to rotate in either direction, the arrangement shown in Figure 2 is that of a wheel mounted to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow.

In the operation of the device, the shaft 4 is driven by a motor, as will be hereinafter described, and the wheel is thus rotated. One, of the buckets 8, which is at the bottom of the wheel, will be submerged in the water and, of course, will become filled with water. As this bucket travels to the right and also upwardly, it will hang in a vertical position from the rod 8 'on which it is suspended, thus maintaining the bucket. in an upright position so as to avoid any spilling of the water therefrom. When the bucket reaches the top of the wheel, it will be diametrically disposed with respect to the wheel, and its lower tront wall will lie against a stop U in the form of a rod carried by and extending between the wheel members A and B. As the wheel continues to rotate and the bucket is carried forwardly and downwardly at the lefthand side of the wheel, the bucket will be maintained in its diametric position with respect to the wheel and thus the bucket will eventually reach a point where the water will run or pour out of the open top of the bucket and downwardly in a stream and over the lefthand peripheral portion of the wheel in simulation of an overshot water wheel. The water discharged from the buckets will fall into. the reservoir receptacle or pan H3 and will collect therein for repeated use. As the bucket descends and enters the body of water and travels toward the right therein, the pressure of the water against the bucket will rotate the bucket on its pivotal support 9 and away from the stop ll so as to bring it into an 3 upright position suspended from the rod 9 and thus again become filled with water, after which it will again rise at the righthand side of the wheel and continue through the cycle thus described.

Inasmuch as the wheel is motor driven and is mounted so as to have its lower portion dipped into a body of water, and inasmuch as the buckets successively pick up the water and carry it up to the top of the wheel and then pour it over the descending peripheral portion thereof back into the original body of water, it will be understood that it is not necessary to continuously supply metered water from a house supply nor is it necessary to provide for carrying off waste water through pipes and fittings which are costly to install and may leak water to the damage of the property in which the device is installed.

The stop arrangement I I, best shown in Figure 2, is to provide for the discharge or pouring of water when the wheel rotates in a counterclockwise direction. By shifting the stop rod H to the opposite side of each bucket, the buckets will be held thereby in diametric alignment with the wheel so as to pour at the righthand side of the wheel and carry water upwardly at the lefthand side of the wheel without requiring any other change or alteration in the device.

As hereinbefore stated, the water wheel is motor driven. A satisfactory reduction drive has been shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, wherein l2 designates an electric motor, on the shaft of whichis provided a driving pulley 13 which, by means of a belt 14, actuates a considerably larger pulley l5 fixed to and rotatable with a shaft [6 on which is a much smaller pulley I! over which travels a belt I8 to a considerably larger pulley 19, on the shaft of which is a smaller pulley 20 around which travels a belt 2! engaged with a larger pulley 22 fixed upon the shaft 4 so as to rotate the same and in turn rotate the wheel.

While any form of reduction drive may be employed between the electric motor l2 and water wheel shaft 4, I have provided the arrangement shown in Figure 1 of the drawing so as to obtain a satisfactory, inexpensive slow drive of the water wheel.

The operation of the wheel is accompanied with a clanking noise, in simulation of that commonly occurring with ordinary commercial overshot water wheels by reason of the fact that each bucket 8 is preferably of metal and when it swings against and strikes the metal stop rod H at the top of the wheel, a clanking noise is produced,

and this noise is imparted successively as the several buckets approach and strike their respective stop rods at or about the top part of the wheel.

What is claimed is:

1. An imitation overshot water wheel comprising an open top receptacle for containing a liquid, an overshot water wheel mounted above the receptacle and disposed with its lower portion within the receptacle and to enter water therein, a series of buckets pivotally hung upon the wheel so as to hang vertically with their open tops uppermost on the ascending side of the wheel, means to maintain each bucket disposed radially of the wheel at the descending side of the wheel with the open top of the buckets facing outwardly throughout the downward path of the buckets to pour water from the buckets downwardly in a stream across the descending peripheral portion of the wheel, and means for driving the wheel.

2. An imitation overshot water wheel comprising a power driven wheel provided with a peripheral series of buckets, pivotally hung on the wheel and free to maintain a vertical position with their open tops uppermost throughout the ascending peripheral portion of the wheel, and means to maintain each bucket radially disposed with respect to the wheel at the descending peripheral portion of the wheel and throughout the downward path of the bucket to thereby pour water from the buckets downwardly across the descending peripheral portion of the wheel from the top to the bottom thereof in imitation of an overshot water wheel.

3. An imitation overshot water wheel comprising a power driven wheel made up of spaced wheel members and buckets pivotally hung between and upon the wheel members, each bucket being free to hang vertically with its open top uppermost during the upright travel of the ascending peripheral portion of the wheel, a stop rod for each bucket, said rod extending between and carried by the spaced wheel members and disposed to engage the forward side of the adjacent bucket below the pivotal support thereof throughout the downward travel of the bucket at the descending peripheral portion of the wheel and to maintain the buckets radially disposed with respect to the wheel, whereby the open top of the buckets will be maintained in a position facing the periphery of the wheel during the downward travel thereof from the top to the bottom of the wheel.

4. An imitation overshot water wheel comprising a Water wheel having buckets pivotally suspended thereon and free to hang in a vertical position with their open tops uppermost on the ascending peripheral portion of the wheel, means to maintain said buckets radially disposed with their open tops directed radially outward with respect to the wheel throughout the descending path of the buckets, a motor, and a reduction drive connecting the motor and the wheel.

5. An imitation overshot water wheel comprising a power driven wheel, a series of open top buckets pivoted at their tops to the wheel, the pivotal points of the several buckets being disposed in a circular series concentric with the axis of the wheel, and stops provided upon the wheel in a series disposed inwardly of the pivots and arranged in a circular series concentric with the axis of the wheel, each stop being disposed in engagement with the front side of the adjacent bucket at the descending side of the wheel and holding the bucket with its open top facing outwardly, each bucket being out of contact with its stop on the ascending side of the wheel, and each bucket being in contact with its stop beginning at the top of the wheel and continuing substantially to the bottom thereof.

FREDERICK S. MCCUNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 473,573 Harris Apr. 26, 1892 483,791 Roll Oct. 4, 1892 612,554 Strauss Oct. 18, 1898 

